Played Craigielaw yesterday and played some awful shots at times, especially with clubs i'm normally pretty good with.

There were shots that i felt i couldn't have swung any better but i found that all i managed to do was push the ball down into the turf, rip a thin slither of turf up (not sure you could call it a divot) and watch my ball fly more like a club with much more loft - 7 iron was flying more like a pitching wedge!

I normally play a parkland course where the fairways are completely different...

So, does playing on a soggy links surface require a different technique, if so, what is it?

since ive become a member of a links, ive had to totaly change my approach, of my approach shots. i normaly take find im taking more club than normal, and swinging shorter tryign to get it to run up. I find if i hit it fat on the links course the ball goes nowhere.

all in all i thinks links are bloddy hard

main reason being... parkland courses are mainly bit on soil or clay like your garden outside then treated etc. which means grounds going to be firmer and tougher.

linx golf courses are mainly and most are sand based underneath the turf so they drain off surface water alot quiker but the waters in the soggy ground underneath. but when its dry linx courses are firm and hard as hell !!

You can't be serious? Parkland courses are far soggier than links as the water will drain through the sand and be no where near the surface of the grass whereas courses built on clay will retain the water.

Clear example of this is the number of parkland courses that are closed when links courses are open all year around. 

thats a good point, but it always seems like its raining on a links, and or always windy 

i've only ever played on links 3 times. twice now at craigielaw, although the first time was only a few weeks after taking the game up so i don't recall anything of it. 2nd time was the west links at north berwick. again this was quite soon after taking up the game and i remember it being warm and dry and the course was very dry. at the weekend, i did think that craigielaw was wetter - or more damp - than i was expecting. Maybe it's just because of the torrential rain the day before.

felt totally different though and i couldn't think of anything i was doing wrong with a lot of shots.

Last year I played on a links course & the fairways & greens were never waterlogged (except for one hole with a deep hollow ). The turf was bone hard (ouch) in summer & quite firm in the winter - my divots were quite thin & scrappy. Trolleys were all-year.

This year I've been playing parkland courses and have found that more effort is needed to get the ball up in the air & travelling, even when the course has been dry (can't remember when, though !); parkland fairway grass seems thicker.  The recent saturated course conditions have made play quite exhausting for me - more like ploughing than golfing - with my divots the size & weight of large boots !  Trolleys have already been banned.

 Don't think my playing style has changed much - maybe hitting down & through more, to dig the ball out of the paddy field/fairway. 

So am looking for a links course, or a hill course, for this winter....

I wouldn't class Craigielaw as a typical links course. Although it's surrounded by courses like Kilspindie, Gullane and Lufness, it's essentially only @ 10yrs old and consequently probably doesn't have quite the same sandy based soils as most links. I certainly thought when I played Craigielaw 2 weeks ago the ground felt much softer and did not have the same surface feel compared to Gullane 2 last weekend or other established links courses.

Links golf requires a completely different style of approach (which I can't get used to due to lack of time spent on them) when the wind blows and the ground is hard.

I played a challenge match on Saturday at Gullane with a scratch golfer who pulled out his 5 iron when @150yds from the green and almost chipped it along the fairway to within 10ft. A shot I never have opportunity to practice on parkland courses.

...which is why I love links golf. It's a very rare occurance to hit the same shots (if hit well that is) twice on the same hole two times running.

I know old boys at some of the parklands round my way who can tell exactly what they'll be hitting on virtually every hole they play - and have done for the last 20yrs!!!

this is soo true, ive hit shots that loked briliant they land on the green and go 50 feet through ive topped shots towards the green and they end 5 feet from the pin.

what i try and do is land it just before the green each time. i played with a buggy with gps today wchich helps loads cause it gives you yardes to the front of the green. i had a shot 195 yards, and notrmally id think 3 iron rescue club, but when i checked gps front of green was 175 yards so i hit a good 4 iron and it rolled up and gave me a good birdie chance.

then theres a par 3 175 yards and even though it says that, i need a 3 iron to reach it though i hit my 4 iron 175 go figure